Ghanaians need more access to energy instead of energy transition – Stakeholders

Stakeholders in the energy sector have posited that Ghana is not exactly positioned for an energy transition yet.

According to them, this is because some parts of the country still do not have access to energy.

Therefore, there is a need to focus more on achieving 100% access for almost every Ghanaian.

They made the call during the 21st Knowledge Forum series of the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, on the theme: Empowering consumers through clean energy transitions.

Speaking to journalists, the CEO of the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, Dr. Ing Kenneth Ashigbey noted that Ghana has a more peculiar challenge to deal with.

“Our situation is really not transitioning from one point to the next point. Our situation is really access. Do we still go ahead with the old fossil fuel or do we change? When did we discover oil? Not too long ago, so nobody should be telling us to keep our oil down.

"So, we definitely need to have a good mix. We are in a country where the amount of solar we have so much wind, but solar especially. So how do we ensure that we harness clean energy in terms of ensuring that the access that we have, about 20% of people who do not have access to energy [gets it], how do we lower the cost of energy for ourselves?” he quizzed.

He also added that the telecommunications sector contributes a significant amount to climate change, therefore, the need to discuss solutions that will centre on enhancing access to clean energy.

Ken Ashigbey said “However, we cannot run away from the implication of the climate change disaster facing the world, so as an industry we are committed to reducing the impact of climate change. The telecoms sector contributes to global emissions, particularly when you realize that there are over 54,000 base transmitter stations powered, in some cases 24 hours seven days a week, by generators. You can just imagine the emissions from these.”







SSD/DA